“What Does a Teen Wolf Do???”

Upon hearing the news that MTV are going to remake one of my favourite filmsTeen Wolf in the form of a television mini series( hot on the heels of this Twilight craze) I was less then impressed, as MTV have thankfully failed to bring their updated verison of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (another cult favorate) to life but are instead now trying to jump on the supernatural band wagon aiming to make it more serious and character driven . Unfortently they are missing what makes the original and thats camp comedy as it one of the key films that I would watch growing up and to this day is still in my top 5 films, yes it is not high art nor is it an incredibly good film but being one of the first films I can remember seeing (along with several others) it holds a uniquely special place within my love of film, anything to gain a quick ratings boost.

Honestly I can not actually explain why I adore its camp appeal, like I have said it is not a very well made film nor is it a particularly well acted or directed film. But it does have a comfortable air about it, like when you wear a pair of your most comfortable and worn in shoes, they are not brilliant but they are enjoyable and you know what to expect from them as they do the job . But Teen Wolf is unaltered classic cheese from the good old 80s, which is full of stereotypical American teenagers who are acted by 20 year olds (such as the bitchy poplar girl, the sports jock, the overweight friend, the crazy friend etc) but it has a unique charm that just endears me to it over the repeat viewings .

It also has surprisingly for a PG film, a heavy amount of sexual references (dear lord I sound like a BBFC advert) blatant nods to drug use among these high schoolers and quite a bit of swearing, which by todays standards would easily classify it as either a 12 or 15, just goes to show standards have changed within filmmaking. So listed below is my favourite things about this cult classic, hopefully you will either enjoy or decide to watch the film based on its trashy likability.

Hungry Like The Wolf!:

Made before Back To The Future but released only on that films success, this is enjoyable purely due to seeing a very hairy basketball playing Marty McFly become the popular kid something he never got to do in the back to the future series. I mean how you can not like a basketball playing; break dancing teen wolf is honestly beyond me.

Surfin’ USA:

Car surfing is a core part of this film I mean it is almost another character, all of which are done to The Beech Boys Surfing USA, watch this clip and see why. It is hard to find this anything other then instantly likeable. ignore the dubbing and enjoy.

Holy Finstock!:

Scott’s coach is another highlight with his pearls of utterly confused wisdom, containing such iconic and character defining lines like “There are three rules that I live by: never get less than twelve hours sleep; never play cards with a guy who has the same first name as a city; and never get involved with a woman with a tattoo of a dagger on her body. Now you stick to that, and everything else is cream cheese”.

Check out the video below for more Bobby Finstock greatness.

Synth-Tastic!!:

Teen Wolf contains on of those quintessentially 80s film soundtracks both in its score (one which is highly sort after by fans and collectors) by Miles Goodman who followed up with two Frank Oz comedy classics (little shop of horrors and dirty rotten scoundrels) and in its synth heavy pop hits by unheard of artists such as Mark Safan and Bunny and the Wolf Sisters. But it again just adds to the overall appeal of this film even more, the dated music is comforting to hear even though it is trashy. Hey retro is back in fashion so I have heard.

Stylin’ Stiles:

Scott’s best buddy and money profiting Fonz-a-like Stiles has what can be only be described as the best and most un-pc t-shirts for a kids film, parading around in such stylish numbers as “What are you looking at dicknose” an self referential “Obnoxious the movie” on top of his range of multi-coloured jeans and accessories. Making him stylishly head and tail above Teen Wolf’s attire, what can I say he is a trendsetter.

These are just a few of the reasons I enjoy Teen Wolf even more so on repeat viewings and introducing new people to his camp classic, it wont ever win any awards but it has found a following and is lovingly embraced by fans of cheesy cinema (I count myself in that utterly without question). It is enjoyably daft as a coming of age tale or teen film (I use that term loosely), but if you take it for what it is a fun romp for 80 odd minutes then give it ago, crack open a beer or two sit down with some mates and bask in the glory of a car surfing/ basketball playing Teen Wolf. It’s a Howling good time (sorry could not resist it)